Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations

Twenty-three patients at San Francisco's Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center who lived in two wards at the public hospital that primarily serves dementia patients were subjected to alleged physical and verbal abuse between 2016 and 2019. Health officials said Friday that the six alleged abusers took photos and videos of themselves engaging in the abuse — including having sexualized conversations with patients. The alleged abusers exchanged those photos and videos over text messages. News on hospitals comes out of Minnesota, Oregon, Florida and Kansas, as well.

San Francisco Chronicle:
Patient Abuse Scandal Rocks San Francisco’s Laguna Honda Hospital
Twenty-three patients at San Francisco's Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center endured systemic abuse at the hands of six of the hospital employees, the Department of Public Health alleged Friday. The victims live in two wards at the public hospital that primarily serves dementia patients and were subjected to alleged physical and verbal abuse between 2016 and January 2019, according to the health department. (Fracassa, 6/28)

KQED:
'Hurtful, Offensive And Heartbreaking': Major Patient Abuse Scandal Hits S.F.'s Laguna Honda Hospital
Nearly two dozen patients at Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center in San Francisco were abused for years by a group of staff members, city officials said on Friday. Following a months-long investigation, the San Francisco Department of Public Health reported that six former employees subjected 23 live-in patients to verbal and physical abuse, including sedating them with non-prescribed medications and engaging in sexualized conversations. (Green, 6/28)

The Star Tribune:
In Albert Lea, Signs Of Stress And Progress For A Rural Hospital
Mayo leaders, who have been fielding complaints since the decision was announced, say the consolidation has been successful and was the best option given the pressures that have shuttered dozens of rural hospitals across the United States. They announced the latest step last Thursday with the shutdown of Albert Lea’s inpatient medical-surgical unit and the opening of a newly renovated unit at the Austin hospital. ...Operating separately, the hospitals had costly redundancies and were losing doctors, who grew frustrated over the busy days when they lacked backup support and the slow days that made it harder to keep their skills sharp, said Dr. Sumit Bhagra, medical director of Mayo’s Albert Lea-Austin health system. (Olson, 6/29)

The Oregonian:
OHSU Says Burnout, Staffing Shortage Led To Heart Transplant Program Closure
Heart transplant cardiologists were burned out and understaffed and complained of poor communication within OHSU Hospital when they left, according to a short list of findings from two reviews of the state’s only heart transplant program, which was shuttered last year. The findings are the academic hospital’s attempt to make good on a promise of transparency about what happened last spring and summer when the entire heart transplant team quit in rapid succession, leading to the program’s closure. (Harbarger, 6/28)

Kaiser Health News:
Have Cancer, Must Travel: Patients Left In Lurch After Hospital Closes
One Monday in February, 65-year-old Karen Endicott-Coyan gripped the wheel of her black 2014 Ford Taurus with both hands as she made the hour-long drive from her farm near Fort Scott to Chanute. With a rare form of multiple myeloma, she requires weekly chemotherapy injections to keep the cancer at bay. She made the trip in pain, having skipped her morphine for the day to be able to drive safely. Since she sometimes “gets the pukes” after treatment, she had her neighbor and friend Shirley Palmer, 76, come along to drive her back. (Tribble, 7/1)

Modern Healthcare:
Quarter Of Hospitals Fail To Comply With Leapfrog's Never-Event Policy
About a quarter of hospitals fail to meet the Leapfrog Group's standards in addressing serious patient harm events should they occur, according to a new report. The analysis, published Thursday, found 74.5% of the more than 2,000 hospitals that received a patient-safety grade from the Leapfrog Group in 2018 complied with all nine aspects of the group's never-event policy. Hospital compliance with the standard has hovered at or slightly below 80% since 2014. (Castellucci, 6/28)

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